


When two become one

by whenyouwriteinbed



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, irregular updates, plz help me get a better one, shit title
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26279353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenyouwriteinbed/pseuds/whenyouwriteinbed
Summary: A series of unconnected one-shots of Edelgard and Byleth as they go through culminations of things like having a heartbeat, the world of two-headed eagles, and so on.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	When two become one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had a thought about what would happen if Edelgard knew about Byleth not having a heartbeat earlier in the story, and how it would affect the scene at the end.

A city was burning.

A dragon lay dead before the gates of the royal palace.

A war had been won.

But that mattered little to a woman who held onto a man, the rush of victory quickly fading away.

It had happened moments after the dragon had been slain, it’s mighty roar being the last sound it made as a weak smile crossed the man’s face, looking towards the woman standing next to him.

“We’ve, we’ve done it,” the woman started, turning to face the man standing next to her with a look of satisfaction on her face.

Satisfaction quickly turned to fear as she spotted him face down against the stone pavement, his sword at his side without a trace of movement in him.

“No,” she said, softly at first, her ax dropping as she took a few steps towards him.

“No!” she shouted, running forward. It was a coarse shout; her voice already strained from the constant yelling needed in battle.

Tripping on an upended stone, she stumbled and rolled a bit, stopping on her knees a step away from the man. Unwilling to stop to get up, she crawled the rest, turning the man over to lift his face as she looked at him.

A blank stare greeted her, the man’s eyes still open. It didn’t seem like he was breathing.

Fretting even more, she tried to press her ear against his chest. Unable to hear anything, there was a slight panic in her as she reached for her crown, tossing it to the side. She hoped that it had kept her ear from getting close enough to hear anything and that she could press even closer to him.

But it was for naught, as only the sound of the fires around her roared even louder.

“No, no, no,” the woman said, switching ears, hoping that she could hear something.

But the results were the same.

“Professor,” she said softly, a title the man had firmly rejected at the start of the war, slipping out in a moment of emotional weakness, unable to believe what was happening before her.

Holding his head, tears were forming in the corner of her eyes as she rested her head against his.

As she was about to cry, she felt a slight movement from his jaw.

Whether it was a desire to feel him move or a death throe, she couldn’t tell. But it sparked a memory in her, making her scramble to take her gloves off as she recalled, her mind racing at the memory, hoping that it would lead her true.

It was a surprisingly quiet morning in Garreg Mach as Edelgard awoke, stretching as the rising sun filtered in through the cracks in her curtains.

Checking her body, a sigh of relief left her lips as she found that she was dry; no cold sweats from nightmares strong enough to drench her, it seemed.

Getting up from her bed, she peeked out of the curtains to see where the sun was. It was barely high enough to let light in through the edge of her window, meaning that it was still early.

Hubert was probably up and about, a day of rest not enough to keep him from his work, be it standing by his lady or stepping into the shadows. If she remembered correctly, it was the latter today; something about a path in Garreg Mach that even those snakes were unaware of, as he put it.

Knowing that he would give a comprehensive report once he was done, the princess dressed herself, a well-practiced rhythm of three years playing itself out as she thought about what discoveries could be made and what it could mean for her war.

Putting it to the back of her mind, she stepped out of her room, spotting some of the other early risers leaving their rooms, or some of them returning from a night’s worth of activities, as Sylvain seemed to exhibit.

As she made her way out of the dorms for royalty, the fishing pond seemed to be calling to Edelgard.

If she knew her teacher, he would most likely be out for a session of morning fishing.

Her own fears aside, she knew how much he enjoyed it; perhaps being the best chance one had to see him express emotion outside of battle.

And if memory served, today was a day that Jeralt was at the monastery, so it wouldn’t be strange if the two of them were together at the moment. A rare chance to be together after being sent to different jobs. But the smallest of inclinations had her taking steps closer to it.

Looking out towards the small dock that jutted into the pond, Edelgard smiled a bit as she saw him sit on the edge, feet in the water as a he looked out into it. His father seemed to not be there yet, so it was a chance to spend some time with him without the prying eyes of Hubert watching them.

“Professor,” she said, standing at the edge of the pond as to avoid getting any closer to the water.

No response.

Thinking nothing of it, he was perhaps concentrated on the water and didn’t hear her, Edelgard raised her voice as she said ‘Professor’ again.

He didn’t respond.

It was strange, Edelgard wondered if he was that invested when he fell onto his back, eyes staring into nothing.

“Professor?” she asked, worry audible in her voice as she looked out, feet seemingly unable to decide if she wanted to go out onto the dock.

There was no response again.

Looking around to see if there was anyone close enough, Edelgard grit her teeth as she realized that was the one there.

With no one to call out for assistance, she was the only one who could get close enough to check on him.

Focusing on her teacher, Edelgard ignored the creaking of the dock as she scurried over, grabbing his arms as she dragged him away from the water and onto solid land, feeling her heart pounding as she carried him back.

Laying him down on the ground, she checked to see if he was breathing, which he ever so slightly seemed to be.

Seeing that he was still alive, a small sigh left Edelgard as she next pressed her ear against his chest to listen to his heart.

But there was nothing.

Thinking something strange, she switched ears, her cheek practically against his chest as she listened.

Yet there was silence.

Wondering if there was something wrong, she practically jumped when “Ah shit, it happened again,” came from behind her.

Turning to see who it was, a burly man dressed in a muted orange sighed as he put his fishing gear to the side, making Edelgard look in confusion.

“Jeralt!” she turned to see the man coming towards her, a rather calm expression on his face. “Wait, what do you mean, again?” she asked, the man seemingly ignoring her as he bent over to pick up his son, closing his eyes before lifting him up.

“Jeralt?” Edelgard asked, but the mercenary ignored her, her teacher on his shoulders as he walked towards the dorms.

Somewhat put off by his silence, Edelgard followed the man as he made his way towards the end of the dorms, stopping at the end with a door that had the name ‘Byleth’ written on a wooden plate hanging from it.

Walking in, Jeralt sat Byleth on the bed, looking to take his boots off when he realized they weren’t there.

Shrugging, he lay Byleth on his back and turned to walk out.

“How are you so calm?” Edelgard asked as she blocked the door, a look of suspicion on her face as she spread her arms to block the knight’s movement.

“This happens every now and then,” Jeralt shrugged, looking down at Edelgard who slightly tensed up at the man’s looming presence. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Nothing to worry about?” Edelgard asked after correcting herself, eyes narrowing as she looked up. “He had no heartbeat,” she said, making the former merc pause. “How is not having a heartbeat every now and then nothing to worry about?”

Trying to think of a way without saying anything, Jeralt looked around to see if the shadow that normally accompanied the princess was nearby, but he saw nothing.

And the sun was taking its time to rise, so there wouldn’t be people watching to give him an easy out.

He let out a sigh.

“You didn’t hear this from me, but he never had a heartbeat,” was all Jeralt said. As a look of shock crossed her face, Jeralt took the chance and forced his way past a stunned Edelgard, watching him go as if nothing had happened.

Turning to look at her teacher, Edelgard hesitated for a moment to step in, Jeralt leaving the door open as he left, seemingly inviting her to check if he was telling the truth or not.

She walked in after a few moments of hesitation, checking behind her to make sure no one was watching, lest someone disappear because of rumors.

Realizing what she was about to do, Edelgard did her best to fight the blush she felt coming, lowering her head to his chest.

It was silent.

There was a steady rise and fall from his breathing, but no heartbeat.

Getting up, she looked at Byleth as his closed eyes seemed to have put him to sleep, a relaxed look on his face as he lay still.

Unable to stop the small smile on her face, Edelgard thought of leaving, figuring that this was probably enough for the day, when something crossed her mind.

Taking her gloves off, she gently reached for her teacher’s neck, not wanting to risk waking him by removing his gauntlets and gloves to touch his wrists that lay beneath them.

Placing two fingers against his neck, the small smile came back in force as she felt a slow but steady pulse, a kind one would expect from someone sleeping, cross her fingers.

“Stay with me, Professor,” Edelgard said, getting up as she put her gloves back on and walked out.

“Stay with me, Professor.”

With the flames roaring around her, she put her fingers on the same spot of the man’s neck as she did all those years ago.

Nothing.

“No,” she said softly, taking her other hand as she pressed against the same spot.

“No, no, no,” she continued, moving to a different spot on the neck as she pressed her fingers again, hoping for something.

Nothing.

Her dream, her goal, she had it now. But her reward, what she wanted once the war was over?

Dead in her arms from fighting her war.

Unable to hold it in anymore, she cried openly, holding his head as she squeezed, ‘forgive me,’ being the only comprehensible thing that left her mouth as she wept.

As the fires started to lose their roar, the woman was still crying, her embrace of the man not letting up in the slightest.

Her sobbing had let up a bit, as she could only sniffle, her tears nearly spent.

Eventually, the woman straightened out, wiping her eyes as she looked at the man she lowered to her lap.

There was no change in his face as he continued to stare blankly at her, body limp as it rested against her.

With a final act that she thought she could bestow upon him, to act on the feelings still inside her, the woman leaned over and gave a soft kiss on the man’s forehead.

Straightening out again, she lowered her hands to close his eyes when they blinked.

Startled by the movement, she watched again as they started to twitch, moving from side to side as if they were looking for something to focus on.

Eventually landing on her, the man gave a weak smile, attempting to move his head into her as he closed his eyes.

Feeling every so slightly panicked, the woman put her hands to his neck, hoping that it wasn’t a trick of her mind.

A steady pulse.

“Stay with me, Professor.”


End file.
